Christ Church Sandown

Welcome to the website of Christ Church, Sandown!

Thank you for visiting this website.  We would be so glad to extend a warm welcome to you at any church event or service but at the moment the church building is shut during the Covid-19 pandemic and all church meetings are suspended for the time being.  We are though trying to stay in touch and support each other where we can.  This page now highlights the main events and opportunities that exist to connect virtually at this time.

Our Worship at Home service for Trinity Sunday 7 June will be available on the church's YouTube channel (please subscribe to it) from 6pm today.  When available a link will be provided  below.

Background

In light of the UK Government requirements to stem the spread of Covid-19 public worship services are suspended and the church building is closed until further notice. Funerals are still permitted at the crematorium or graveside only with no more than 5 people in attendance.  Weddings and Baptisms cannot currently be held.  Full details of the latest advice as it affects churches can be found at http://www.churchofengland.org/coronavirus.

Caring for each other

If you find yourself isolated and in need please call or text Mark on 07873 406558.  We have people who can help and are very happy to chat on the phone if you should be worried.  In any event do spend time calling people you know.  We might all be socially isolating but we can still keep in touch.

Prayer

The church building, now inaccessible,  is of course not the only place we can pray.  Can we encourage everyone to pray at home and may be even pray over the phone/FaceTime/WhatsApp/Skype with someone else!  “Be joyful always, pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18).

Our prayer for all is echoed in a special blessing video issue by the UK churches to the nation. May Lord bless you whoever you are.

Messages and news

Video messages for the week are being recorded regularly and are available on the church's YouTube Channel and/or the church's Facebook page. A search on Christ Church Sandown will locate both these sources.  The messages are now included within a full church service which is uploaded and available from 6pm each Saturday for you to use at the time of your choice on Sundays. 

We have a church email list which is used to alert everyone to the publication of videos and the latest news generally.  If you would like to be kept in contact in this way please ask to be put on our mail list which Mark Williams is maintaining (click here to contact Mark for this purpose).

You might like to see the video interview by Mark Williams with James Lynes who is recovering from Covid-19. Here is the link: www.youtube.com/watch?v=BFaN7cfvnB4

Worship

We are publishing regular service orders on this website which contain links to various worship videos as well as the latest message.  These are designed so that you can join with others at home with content that we would normally have been able to share together in our regular worship services.  Where these services include Holy Communion a link to a recorded communion service as celebrated by Mark (on the church YouTube channel) is also given.

A weekly service is to be broadcast on Sundays by the Archbishop of Canterbury on local radio including Radio Solent and BBC R4 at 8am which will be available on-line from 9am on the Church of England website) and also the BBC will be broadcasting its usual Songs of Praise.  Please check a newspaper or TV guide for the times the latter is being broadcast.  Locally St Paul's Barton live stream a service on Face book at 10am on Sunday's and the Bishop of Portsmouth also broadcasts from his home.

Staying in touch

The church home groups are not currently physically meeting.  However, various regular link-ups are taking place using mainly Messenger, Facetime and Zoom.  If you would like to try and join in one of the discussions which are substantially informal catch-up conversations please email Paul Corbett (click here to contact Paul for this purpose).  We cannot guarantee to link you up but we will try.